


things that make it warm

by aboutfivebees



Series: felt cute, might mine later [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Babysitting, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hybrids, Light Angst, Pig Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade-centric (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:54:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29905548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aboutfivebees/pseuds/aboutfivebees
Summary: Technoblade doesn’t think he should be particularly flattered about being asked for piglin childcare advice from his new neighbour/best friend, but sometimes a situation is urgent enough he knows it’s necessary. Who would think to put a baby piglin near soul fire, anyway?orranboo doesn’t understand how piglins work and can’t quite figure out how to juggle hiding his marriage and saving his son with keeping his new arctic friends
Relationships: Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: felt cute, might mine later [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2198649
Comments: 31
Kudos: 682
Collections: Completed stories I've read, Dsmp fic recs :)





	things that make it warm

**Author's Note:**

> title from the things that make it warm by cavetown :)
> 
> i’m speed running this bc i started it two days ago and there ended up being so much more michael lore between then and now. phil brought up the soul lantern thing and i realised i wrote this in mind w Michael being a normal piglin and i was so mad 
> 
> hope you enjoy :) if there’s anything that needs tagged/warned please give me a shout

Technoblade had seen Snowchester before, on trips to and from the main Dream SMP but he never expected to actually visit the community, let alone get  _ invited _ to visit it. Normally he’d try to completely avoid the area, given he had no clue what their deal was, but he knew Ranboo frequented it to visit Tubbo and asked him to drop by today for an  _ undisclosed  _ reason.

Ranboo and Tubbo were close, which Techno isn’t sure he’s supposed to be aware of. Any time Phil brings him up in casual conversation, Ranboo goes so tense Techno might worry he’d snap, and his silence about the guy the rest of the time is deafening by itself. Techno respects that, though; loyalty between friends has always been important to him, so he’s not gonna yell at his friend for having other friends, that’s just be, that’d just be BM.

The place looks nice, but he’s not getting winter town cottage envy. The commune is a nicer place overall, he thinks. Ranboo stood outside door of a two storey house, sitting on the porch and giving him a small wave as he came into view. Techno nodded, and went up the steps.

“Hey Techno! Thanks for coming, hope it wasn’t too hard to find.” 

“Yep.” If the smoke from the chimneys didn’t lead him to it, the ominous lightning tower and it’s juxtaposed quaint little windmill did, but he won’t say that. “It’s uh, it’s nice. Nice and non-governmental, you know.”

Ranboo smiled, nervous, nodding and bringing them both inside. He could smell something cooking from the kitchen, and could hear some movement from upstairs. A pet, maybe? He’d been promised Tubbo wasn’t home, so he’s really hoping he didn’t just get scammed.

“Soo… I have someone I want you to meet.” Oh god. Oh god, oh no, he was not prepared for any new social interactions today, why has Ranboo done this to him. “A, uh, well, he’s pretty important to me, and I want you to see him. Plus, I think I could use some advice, maybe?” Oh no, and he’s  _ important  _ to him? He cannot screw this up, he can’t. Why is Ranboo getting  _ people advice  _ from  _ Technoblade? _

“Yep. Sounds good.” Techno deadpanned, hiding his panic. Just calm and collected, as always. Maybe it’s just Tubbo and Ranboo forgot they’ve already met. Ugh, would that really be a good thing, though?

“He’s. A piglin?”

“A. He’s- alright. Alright.” Not alright, he hasn’t had a meaningful talk with another piglin in years, at least not in their language. Why is Ranboo generalising? Why has he done this?

“He’s also a child?”  _ What?  _ “Oh god, that doesn’t help, does it? He’s tiny, he’s like 3 or something, I can’t really get a good read on piglin ages. We called him Michael, since we couldn’t find out if he had a name. Wow, we really did not know anything about piglins before taking him in, that’s, probably not the best idea we’ve had.”

Techno wished he was too tired to dig into this any more. “You… took him in?”

“Yeah! Me and Tubbo met him in the Nether a few months ago, around when I first joined the server, and when we stumbled across him again he seemed like he wanted to join us. He, uh,” Ranboo laughs. “He was actually riding a chicken the first time we met him; seemed pretty attached to him, too. Don’t know what happened to it, but something tells me he needed the company after it.”

_ Techno peeked his head around the trunk of the crimson stem, trying to stay as small as possible to avoid being spotted by the man with wings, wandering around the new portal that spawned just outside of his commune’s territory. The voices urged him to attack, but before he could try talking them down the man spun around and met his eyes, a soft but focused gaze that put him on edge. Uh oh. _

“Yeah, we,” Techno coughed, shrugging off his overcoat. “Baby piglins do tend to just wander about. We’re pretty independent, but I guess some of us can be more clingy than others.”

Ranboo took it from him, hanging it up on the coat rack. “Yeah, that’s uh, that might be part of the issue here, I think.”

“Oh?”

“Well, when we go up to see him, he just seems really scared? Like, he always sticks to a specific corner and hides in it, and when we come in he won’t let go of us the whole time. He was fine on the way there, and he’s good in the rest of the house, but I think we might have messed something up in his room.” Ranboo sighed worriedly. Wow, he got into this whole fatherhood thing fast. “Me and Tubbo just… can’t figure out what’s wrong. We’re really not sure if it's a ‘Michael settling into the house’ issue or a ‘moving to the Overworld after living in the Nether his whole life” issue, and I just hoped you could help us figure out what’s going on.” A pause. “Sorry.” Ranboo added, because the guy really can’t seem to help apologising.

Techno scratched his neck awkwardly. “Well, I mean… I can take a look. It’s a colder environment, so it’d probably be harder for him to settle in if it’s drafty up in the attic.”

“No no no, we’ve got a netherrack fireplace up in his room with a guard up to stop him from getting in it, and the window shutters are locked all the time. Plus, we’re planning on getting double front doors, Puffy says it should prevent any drafts. It’s definitely warm enough for him.” Ranboo frowned, stirring the pot. “We made him some new clothes we thought would be better for the climate, but I don’t know how much those are suited for piglins. We’re not taking him outside for a while yet, I don’t think.”

“What’re you guys feeding him?”

“I was just gonna go make him more mushroom stew- crimson and warped mushrooms, those I know are fine. Other than that, we’ve given him potatoes, carrots, a few steaks and Phil br- just one of Phil’s cakes from the other day. We were considering bread, but thought we’d wait on that.”

“Cake before bread, seems like a logical progression of weaning.” Ranboo flushed, making Techno laugh. “Nah, nah, those all sound fine. Honestly, piglins will eat most things. Just make sure he’s eating enough meat, because that’s an essential. We’re omnivores, but with a uh, a carnivorous bias, you know?”

“Okay, okay, that’s good, that’s… that’s great.” Haha, Ranboo sounds pretty relieved. He must have been stressing about that one. “If you want you can go up and talk to him by yourself, I have some stew prepared that I’ll bring up in a second.”

“Sounds good, sounds good.” Techno isn’t sure he should be trusted to take care of a small child for any amount of time, but he really doesn’t want Ranboo to think he’s worried about this, so he’ll just go along with it.

Techno watched Ranboo run into the kitchen then climbed up the ladder, poked his head through the hatch and froze.

Well there’s the issue.

The room was  _ engulfed _ in deep blue soul light, from torches and lanterns scattered across the room. The fireplace gave a warmer glow, closer to home, but was completely overwhelmed to the point of it being barely noticeable. The voices seemed to laugh, familiar with the opposing whispers and overwhelming them easily. Still, Techno couldn’t help it when his hackles rose, carefully getting to his feet as he surveyed the rest of the room.

There were a couple cakes laid down, one with a note beside it scribbled in Phil’s handwriting, meaning he knew and just… chose not to say anything. Techno’s going to choose not to feel too hurt by that, he guesses, given Tubbo probably has no trust in him and might have asked him to keep him secret. A few family portraits were strung up, and in those Michael seemed to be at least partially zombified, which would’ve been good to know before he came over. A small yellow bednest was pushed into the corner and bookshelves lined the walls, filled with brightly colours children’s books like  _ Chris the Creeper’s Cacti Calamity!  _ and  _ Counting to Three with DreamXD! _

Honestly? It was pretty cute. Save for the whispers from the long dead souls trapped in the fire. Other than those, an absolutely adorable room. If it wasn’t for his own voices overwhelming them, he wouldn’t want to step into the room himself. 

Shutting the trapdoor behind him, he listened carefully, just barely picking up on the short breathing of Michael, who he could then see in the corner, his knees drawn up to his chest. He didn’t seem scared, which was good, but he definitely didn’t enjoy being near the light. That’s weird, though; he’s never seen a zombified piglin have a reaction to it before.

Michael looked at him, his healthy eye blinking in surprise. He went as if to stand up, then plopped back down just as quickly, as if remembering something. Techno frowned. He’ll have to get rid of the lanterns if he wants any hope of the kid talking to him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a gilded pocket mirror, holding it up for a moment and sliding it towards the piglin, who jumps but quickly got invested in the small device. Works every time.

Just as went over to the first light holster, Ranboo popped up through the trapdoor, placing a bowl of stew before sticking his head through. He saw Michael, an adoring smile coming onto his face as he watched his son flick the mirror open and shut.

“Ranboo.” The hybrid looked over as Techno put out the torch on the wall. “These gotta go  _ now.”  _ Maybe his tone was too harsh, because Ranboo seemed to pale, nodding jerkily, climbing up and getting to work taking the rest of the lanterns down. He’ll explain when they’re all gone.

Meanwhile, Michael seemed content with the lack of light, walking over to drag Techno by the hand to one of his posters furthest away from the lights. He placed the mirror back in his hand, and slammed his hands against the picture, leaning against the poster as if trying to push it away and looking at him blankly. 

“Yeah, it’s… you.” Techno said, voice a little higher than he expected. Michael nodded, seemingly pleased and turned to pose in front of the poster as if he was trying to blend in. Okay. Okay, Techno doesn’t think that’s a piglin thing, so maybe that’s just something he has in common with this particular baby piglin. Doesn’t feel great, but what can you do.

Ranboo was back, a flint and steel to relight the lanterns. He smiled weakly at Michael, who seemed to perk up at his entrance.

Michael wobbled backwards away from the lantern as Ranboo lit it, the child more cautious than scared despite the slight trembling in his father’s hands. The room filled with a warm orange glow, and he perked up, running forward to put his face in front of it, transfixed. 

“So. Uh. Soul fire was a  _ bad call,  _ Ranboo. I’m not gonna, hah, I’m not gonna lie to you there Ranboo.” Techno tried to keep his tone light, but Ranboo seemed anxious nonetheless.

“Why, what does it- is it bad? What was it doing to him? They’ve been in here for as long as he has, if that makes any difference.” Techno winced.

“Well. Uh. I don’t think anything born outside the Nether hears it, but when piglins are near soul fire they can… hear it?” Techno’s brain chose that exact time to remind him, oh yeah, Ranboo is freaked out about the whole hearing Dream voices in his head thing. Power through it, Technoblade. Power through. “Sort of like the… long dead voices from the anguished souls trapped in the soul sand.” 

Ranboo’s breathing hitched, his eyes going round in shock.

“But you know, it’s not. It’s not too bad. They can just be freaky to hear and be around long term so we try to avoid it in general. Not our first choice for uh,” Techno gestures around them, “for  _ children’s  _ nurseries. But you should be okay, I meant you didn’t. You didn’t  _ know, _ so…”

Ranboo remained in his horrified silence.

Techno gulped. “Plus, he’s been zombified, so I don’t know if it affects him the same way, so. There’s uh. Hopefully less damage done?” Not sure how reassuring that one was, but he’s really trying here. Oh god, he still hasn’t moved.

“Look, Ranboo, I-“

“God, I’m- that’s really bad, isn’t it?” He exclaimed, his hands shooting up to clutch his hair. “We let- I made him stay in here with  _ soul fire  _ for like… five  _ days,  _ that’s so- he’s gonna be messed up, isn’t he?”

Techno hummed. “Eh, I doubt he’s gonna be-“

“Are the soul’s voices bad?” Ranboo cut him off, panicking. “Are they more like yours, or more like mine? Do you remember what they say to him, is he, is he hurting? How can we help him, should we get him something to make up for it? Oh god, I really didn’t want to mess it up, we said we wouldn’t mess it up how could I, why did-“

“Ran-Ranboo, you-“ Techno laughed nervously.

“I ruined it, oh god, I ruined him, why did anyone think it was a good idea to put me in charge of achild, this is so bad! Is that like- would that be like forcing me to make eye contact, or- or shoving me in water for ages? Oh no, I should, I should leave him alone, shouldn’t I? We should leave him with Tubbo and just- never visit him, or see to him or talk to him and we’d all-“

Michael bumped into Ranboo’s leg, grabbing hold of him and staring up into his eyes, cutting him off. Ranboo froze, faint purple particles shooting out around him before stopping. Taking a deep breath, he picked him up cautiously and held him close, getting a short snort and a nuzzle in response.

“I wanna help him.” Ranboo’s voice was quiet, vulnerable. “How can I help him, Techno?”

Techno gave him a moment to let Ranboo collect himself before answering. “The voices aren’t _evil_ or anything, Ranboo. They’re just whispers, and it’s different when we’re younger, too. He shouldn’t be able to hear the souls yet, his brain isn’t developed enough for them to get in there. He just feels like biologically they’re bad news, so he’ll try to avoid them.”

“But they’re not… dangerous?”

“They’re taboo. Piglins just prefer to stay away from anything we don’t completely trust. By the looks of things, he trusts you.”

Michael was really just popping his mouth on a loop right now, so who knows if that’s a sign of trust. Hopefully means he isn’t distressed anymore though. He wiggled slightly, forcing Ranboo to set him back down.

Ranboo looked down, and pulled the crown off of his head, gently setting it on Michael’s head. The piglins eye basically sparkled, his tiny hands shooting up to clutch it excitedly as he started to dance in slow, small circles around the room, a tiny pleased squeal escaping him.

Ranboo covered his mouth as he let out a shocked laugh, shaky in his endearment. Techno laughed on his own, leaning back against the wall.

“Do you have any other tips? How was settling into the Overworld for you?”

“I can’t really remember? I dunno man, I don’t really know any other piglins to compare it to. Certainly don’t know anything about  _ parenting.”  _ Techno frowned. “Honestly, the fact that he’s zombified changes a couple things, but he still seems sentient so it mightn't have spread to his brain. Just cosmetic rotting, you know? You should probably bring him over to uh, to Ponk to get him checked out. He’s the doctor, right? Dunno how good he is with piglins, but i reckon it’s worth the shot.”

“Do all piglins rot outside the nether?” Ranboo asked, curiously.

Techno turned to face Ranboo, blankly staring at the him in the poster behind him.

“...Oh.”

Techno barked out a laugh, shaking his head. “Nah, I mean usually they do. I’m kind of a special case, I think Phil said he’s seen… one? Maybe two others that have survived out for more than a day.”

“So Michael’s dead, right?”

“Ehhh, sort of. Zombification is weird, man. In the nether we sort of just vibe with them, but there’s still a divide there. Honestly, Michael seems lively, so- well okay, i can’t say  _ lively,  _ can, I? He seems  _ energetic,  _ and since he turned young, so he’ll be inherently different from most other zombie piglins.” A look of guilt flashed across Ranboo’s face.

“It’s not a given, though. I dunno, I can do some reading up and see what I find, but whatever you’ve been doing doesn’t seem to be too bad, saying he trusts you after accidentally filling his room with ghost whispers for like a week.” Techno rolled his shoulders, stretching. “Piglins are pack animals, though, so maybe keep that in mind. He’ll be happier with other people around him a lot.”

“Oh. I guess Snowchester could be good for that. I don’t know how much we wanna show him off, though, in case she gets into some danger. At least you’ve met Michael, though. I-I trust you.” Before Techno could react to  _ that admission _ , the baby piglin did a grand show of ceremoniously lowering Ranboo’s crown onto the cake Philza brought him, as if ordaining it. Ranboo groaned a soft  _ noo,  _ but seemed unbothered.

Techno smiled as Ranboo sat down cross legged (well, sort of, legs aren’t meant to  _ bend like that, what?)  _ in front of Michael, pulling the crown out with a grimace and setting it aside.

Ranboo started chuckling. “I’m- I’m gonna teach him  _ pat-a-cake.” _ He let out a laugh, sounding slightly hysterical, which Techno guesses is fair, actually? Pretty bizarre at least, to be a kid and have another smaller kid you can just teach whatever you want. Sounds like a nightmare to be honest.

A gleam hit Techno’s eyes and, almost in sync, Michael’s tiny hand wrapped around Ranboo’s hand, clutching onto something shiny on his ring finger. Ranboo frowned, gently prying his hand free. “No.  _ No.  _ Careful, Michael. Sticky hands.”

Techno laughed, then froze, recognising the gold band around his finger. “Wait. Ranboo, is that…?”

Ranboo stared, confused. Then something must have clicked, the enderman shooting up, and the room’s vibe suddenly became very  _ very  _ awkward, Michael’s hands slamming into the cake being the only thing filling the silence.

“Uhhhh.” Ranboo droned. “I can explain?”

Techno sighed, burying his face in his hands. The shared house, adopting a son, Ranboo keeping secrets,  _ Phil  _ keeping secrets. Something tells him this shouldn’t have been a surprise.

-

The next morning when Ranboo woke up, he found a small potted crimson fungus stem in his community box, a golden ribbon tied around the terracotta pot.

_ For Michael + family. _

_ Might help him settle in. _

_ -T _

Oh boy. 

He’s going to need to send him a wedding invite now, isn’t he?

**Author's Note:**

> rowan why do you finish every ranboo and techno fic with gift giving? why do you do this? i just don’t understand why it’s always the little note. this is the third time you’ve done this. it’s starting to get to me
> 
> “counting to 3 with dreamxd” implies so much about this universe and I’m not even gonna bother addressing it because to be completely honest - i don’t even know what it means. you guys take what you want from that line. their god is featured in toddler maths books. 
> 
> michael is just Built Different. don’t ask me why bc the answer will be plot reasons. in this one they didn’t accidentally kill the chicken bc thatd be sad
> 
> ngl this is probably pretty scuffed it was for fun and meant to be quick paced and i accidentally wrote A Lot sooo :( ah well it was good dialogue practice anyways
> 
> mcyt tumblr: @[wewinbees](https://wewinbees.tumblr.com/)
> 
> thanks for reading! any feedback would make my brain go Yay! :)


End file.
